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This article describes how to resolve an issue where your computer stops responding (hangs) when you restart to complete the installation of Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005. This issue occurs on a limited number of systems that use a version of basic input/output system (BIOS) that does not have production support for Intel Pentium 4 and Intel Celeron D processors based on the Prescott C-0 stepping.

Method 1

Method 2

If you have not installed Windows XP SP2, you can install the Critical Update for Windows XP (KB885626), and then install Windows XP SP2.

Update information

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft download center:

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Download the Critical Update for Windows XP (KB885626) package now.
(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9B99C199-5D75-454F-AE07-B620727BE8D8&amp;displaylang=en)
For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/119591/
)
How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services

Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help to prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

To work around this issue if you have already installed Windows XP SP2 and your computer does not start, you can use one of the following workarounds until you install the updated Update.sys file or until you can obtain an updated version of BIOS.

Note You must complete all the following steps before you apply any additional software updates to your system.

Windows XP can provide a processor stepping-specific update that will run independently of the BIOS to provide support for the installed processor. If an operating system cannot load the Intel-provided production support update for a processor, you may experience stop errors or startup failures. In this case, the BIOS does not provide the required production support, and the Intel-provided production support update that is provided in Windows XP causes the system to stop responding.

To determine whether your computer uses an Intel Pentium 4 or Intel Celeron D processor that is based on Prescott C-0 stepping and a BIOS that does not provide the required production support, follow these steps:

Create a startup disk by downloading a startup-disk version of the Intel Processor Frequency ID Utility. To download this program, visit the following Intel Web site: